CHAPTER 74: CELEBRITY.

"What...?" Joseph asked, completely confused by what he just asked... like he knew what a picture was but, why the fuck would he ask for one.

"A picture, sir." He answered once again, his voice still shaky.

"Why would you want a picture with me? I am a nobody. " Joseph answered and with it came the second surprise... the boy laughed at him no.. more like laugh at his answer.

Yeah, well, he didn’t get it. Maybe it’s because he’s still young, maybe because he doesn’t really understand much about life yet. When Joseph called himself a ’nobody,’ it wasn’t just words... it was a warning. A warning to back off, to leave, and to stop asking questions before things got worse.

"But you are Joseph Cassian and—"

"Yeah, I am, and be happy I don’t fucking shoot you on the spot, boy."

"W-what—" He finally met Joseph’s eyes. Up until this point, he had been looking everywhere else, avoiding them, but now he was locked in. And the moment he did, he nearly shit himself under the sheer pressure radiating from Joseph, the danger, the death, all staring straight at him.

He froze completely, so much so that even his breathing became shallow, almost like he was afraid to draw a full breath.

"Get the fuck away." He said and and the boy immediately just turned and ran away, while Joseph himself quickly changed once again and started laughing and smiling that this is actually happenned and not just a fucking hallucination... somebody asked for a fucking picture. "What the fuck was this?"

"It’s because of the others." Amine spoke.

"Others?" Joseph asked, still confused.

"Some gangsters or well-known criminals end up turning into celebrities or so-called online personalities, who share their stories, sell shows, and even do stand-up." Hana explained to Joseph. "And I think he assumed you had left the criminal world too, that you were going to become a celebrity as well...."

"Celebrities...?" He laughed even more as he heard the word. "No way this is true."

"It is." Amine said again, her voice still low. "I think you might know Alier Hunis. He’s been doing stand-up shows for years now, ever since he got out of prison."

"Alier... Hunis... who is... now, fucking way... he was the "banker" of Jelena’s father, how the fuck is he out?"

He remembered him, from that one or two dinners he went to with his family. Though his memory was not very clear, he knew he was deep in the mafia... and now he is doing fucking stand-up shows...

"He ratted on everybody," Amine said again. "Literally everyone and everything. He even agreed to plead guilty to all the charges, and in return, they reduced his life sentence to just 5 years. He ended up helping a lot of people go to prison, he even pinpointed warehouses, smuggling routes, and everything you can think of."

"Then why didn’t Jelena do anything to him?" It bugged Joseph.

Why the hell is Alier still alive? If he snitched on everything... knowing Jelena and the kind of person she is, Joseph would’ve expected her to kill him the moment he stepped out of prison.

"She couldn’t, because Alier played a major role in many cases, so he was under DSA protection. And if he had been killed, it would have been obvious it was Jelena... so she didn’t take the risk."

"Oh, but he didn’t hesitate to take the risk to kill me, huh?" He let out a laugh.

"Well... you killed, no, Pablo killed her family." Amine corrected herself quickly. "And when Alier snitched, Jelena was grieving them."

It made sense... and it also highlighted just how smart Alier was, he took advantage of the moment when everything collapsed and walked right in to snitch on everybody just to get a lighter sentence. What a fucking rat, a smart one.

"Still... stand-up shows." He couldn’t get over it... from a banker who had bribed countless people, laundered money... literally billions flowing through his hands and now he’s doing stand-up shows.

Not just that... it was downright disrespectful. That fucking kid actually thought he was some clown, ready to entertain... a celebrity. Like he didn’t get that people change over time... but honestly, it was just too much to think about, too much to even wrap his head around.

Somebody who was a banker, handled billions for the mafia... and he didn’t steal a single cent? Didn’t stash some cash, move it to a private bank, a shell company, or a foundation... nah. He served his time in jail and then became a clown, protected by the DSA.

"Joseph?" Hana asked, noticing his clenched fist as he got lost in thought.

"Oh, nothing." He shook his head. "Let’s go shopping before people swarm me for pictures... my fucking God."

Even Amine and Hana chuckled at that... just imagining Joseph as a celebrity would be a nightmare. And a stand-up show?

Shit... his stories and jokes would be downright terrifying, no doubt about it.

"What do you want to buy first?" Hana’s voice came from the side as they were now turning on the fashion street.

"Some basic clothes." He looked around. "But I don’t know anything about fashion, nor which brand is good."

"Zeratti is a good brand and not that expensive." Amine said, pointing to the left side of the store. But for Joseph, it didn’t exactly look "not expensive."

The whole place screamed luxury, golden décor everywhere, staff in suits and white gloves.

"Or the Désiré," she continued, pointing to another section... and that one was flashy too. "Oh, and there’s the Belvoir." Another one... but now her voice had started to warm, gaining more power... she was genuinely excited to go into those stores, and that’s when Joseph realized it.

He had come shopping with two women, and he wasn’t going to leave without buying them something. Yeah it kinda hit him a bit hard... that it felt like he was truly with a family, and not with his workers at that moment.